


The Calm Before The Storm

by The Hellion Studio (FullmoonDagger)



Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Domestic, Hellion Studio AU, M/M, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:01:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26049952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FullmoonDagger/pseuds/The%20Hellion%20Studio
Summary: Grant is over at Joey's place for the night, and Joey doesn't feel like sleeping just yet. They have a little chat.This takes place between chapter 3 and 4 of my other fic, Whom A God Loves Dies Young- It can be read on its own, though !¤link to my tumblr, playlist for the fic etc→ https://wagldy.carrd.co
Relationships: Joey Drew/Grant Cohen
Kudos: 6





	The Calm Before The Storm

Joey was mindlessly staring at the moon, his fingers busy tying his hair into a braid for the night, a cigarette burning between his lips. He was seated on the windowsill of the bedroom, his favorite place to relax before his nighttime activities. The windows were wide open, giving to the quiet street and buildings on the other side of it. Things were still and peaceful outside, the city finally released of the sun's heat and fresh air was flowing in the apartment, making the delicate translucent curtains shielding Joey from the rest of the bedroom flutter in a ghostly way. 

Grant entered the bedroom from the bathroom door, his hair still wet from the shower he just took. He quickly looked around for his lover, like an adventurer would search for animals blending in their environment on a safari. Joey's presence was always delicate, distant, quiet. There he saw him, his small frame hidden behind the curtains. Hard to spot as he was always dressed in black. 

"Oh there you are-" Grant whispered, smiling at the sight of Joey.

The redhead turned his head lazily, breathing out smoke, and blinked slowly at Grant. He pushed back the curtain hiding him.   
_ "Mhm."  _ Just a small vocalisation to confirm he was here.

Oh, he looked sleepy. Grant noticed he was wearing pajamas for once. Large pants and an even larger shirt that was definitely stolen from his stuff. He was glad Joey seemed to be wanting to sleep tonight. 

"Wanna get in bed ? I don't want you falling off the window." Grant joked as he sat on the bed to change into his night clothes.   
Joey shook his head to wake himself up.   
_ "No, no." _

Grant held back an annoyed sigh.

"Well, I'm going to bed. I'm visiting my mother tomorrow to help her with Matthias, you know-"

He smiled and settled in bed, wrapping himself comfortably in the blankets. He turned towards Joey to watch over him just in case. Wide open windows made him anxious. Having to take care of his little brother for almost fifteen years gave him the instincts to watch out for any potential danger. It could have been his anxiety too. 

_ "How are they doing?"  _ Joey asked, to Grant's surprise. He never really asked much about his family.

"They're doing fine! My mother's tired, she's been having a lot of work lately and she's not that young anymore. Matt is doing good too. We're going out of town to pick wild blackberries to make jam. It's his favorite thing to do, he's been asking to go since april but we couldn't go pick blackberries when they're not even made yet." He finished with a soft laugh.

_ "That's nice." _

Joey hid his smile by readjusting his cigarette with a hand, the other holding his unfinished braid. He liked hearing about Grant's brother. Brought up good memories from a long time ago. He turned his head away to look out at the sky. He stayed quiet for a moment.

_ "It smells like rain outside, the air is heavy." _ He said in a cloud of grey smoke, his voice drowsy and low.  _ "I hope it's gonna rain tonight." _

"I like the sound of rain. It makes me happy." Grant reacted, smiling as he thought about it.

Joey nodded approvingly.   
_ "I like it too." _

Loving silence.

Joey was focused on finishing his braid, trying the tip with the ribbon he put aside for this purpose once he was done. Grant was still watching him, hoping Joey would join him soon. Joey was falling asleep sitting there again. He had to fight it. He discarded his cigarette end by throwing it outside the window and dragged himself out of his sitting spot to move to his small desk a few steps away.

"Ah, finall- Urgh, Joey!" Grant protested once he saw he wasn't coming to sleep.

_ "Got work to finish I'm sure."  _ He mumbled, sitting down on his chair and browsing around the piles of papers now in front of him.  _ "Can't let myself sleep just yet." _

Grant frowned. Eh, it's not like he could do anything about that. He pulled a pillow into his arms to have something to hug if Joey hadn't decided to come yet. It smelled like him and made Grant melt happily into it. He looked up at his lover. He wasn't even doing anything. He'll give up soon enough.

Despite Joey's stubborn episodes and his overall grumpiness, Grant was happy with him. He had become so kind and so soft, Grant couldn't resist him. That's all he needed in his life. He never was as happy with his previous girlfriends. A few thoughts later he wondered if Joey had ever had anyone before him. How to ask him that… He knew Joey was very secretive on his feelings and life. But he was itching to know.

"Hey, Joey?"   
Joey slightly turned his head on the side, showing he was listening.   
_ "Mh?" _   
Grant paused, thinking about how he could ask it.   
"Did you uh, ever had a girlfriend before?"

Joey stopped moving. He stared back at the wall in front of him, holding his breath. He didn't want to think about this. He didn't want to talk about it. Not Henry, not Robert, not even… what was her name again? It's not like he ever cared. He could barely remember her stupid face anyways. He tangled his fingers together, fidgeting anxiously, biting the inside of his lips. Maybe he could still open up to Grant, after all they were very close. And he wouldn't mind talking a little about these things. Open up, get rid of this weight on his heart...   
_ "No." _ He mumbled, his tone muted but neutral.

_ "...Not really..." _ He dared a little louder. That felt good to let out.

Grant had the feeling he made a mistake bringing this up. His own experiences weren't the most pleasant thing to remember, now he thought maybe Joey's would be the same. He looked down, taking a deep breath. It's gonna be fine.

_ "I don't know what happened with her. Pushed her down the stairs and she wouldn't leave me alone after that. I think the fall didn't break only her wrist." _

Grant stared at the wall. Oh, okay. Joey's stories always were somewhat worrying.

"Ah?"

_ "Mhm."  _ Joey replied, staring at the wall as well.  _ "She wouldn't stop following me around and all. Stressed me out." _

It didn't seem much like the description of a girlfriend for Grant. He kept listening, knowing Joey needed to talk about this.

_ "She asked me out someday and I said yes. I don't even know why. I never gave a shit about her. I'm not sure I even knew her name. I just wanted to see how much I could mess with her until she gave up."  _

He couldn't stop talking. It freaked him out in a way but it felt good at the same time. Grant hugged his pillow tighter, hoping it would send comfort to the other man someway. Joey kept going, grabbing a little piece of paper to tear it up in pieces mechanically.

_ "I was obsessed with making her angry or frustrated, I couldn't get it out of my mind. It wasn't even entertaining it was stressful. It consumed me. I kind of scared myself."  _

Grant nodded even though Joey couldn't see him. 

"Yeah…"

_ "She stayed with me. I hated her so much. She began to hate me too- I'm glad. I almost tri- no."  _ He stopped himself, the last word directed towards himself. He couldn't tell everything.

_ "I don't know why I even thought about doing that. She finally decided to break up after I told her I'd never have sex with her because I thought she was disgusting. I broke into her house while she was at work and I stole her favorite camera as a goodbye." _

Oh, so that's where that camera came from. Grant always wondered why Joey bought it- not that he was struggling with money but it looked extremely expensive for something he didn't use very often. It didn't seem like the item brought him good memories. That's maybe why it was displayed on a shelf rather than used.

Joey felt like he said too much. Grant probably didn't care about all of that. He felt bad to have bothered him so much. He sighed, brushing the shreds of paper out of his sight with the back of his hand.

_ "I don't know why I let all of that happen." _

"It's okay, Joey _. _ It's in the past now." He replied softly, a little unsettled about the story but appreciating the effort Joey made to talk about all of this.

_ "I never cared about her. I never cared about girls anyways." _

"Is it because you prefer men..?" Grant hesitated, not sure of where the conversation was going, but glad to change the subject.

Oh dear, Grant, shut up. Joey tensed up, curling up on himself. Deep breath. How was Grant bringing it up so easily? It was not an easy topic for him. He wasn't sure he was accepting this part of himself still, although it was more the idea of being in love that he was struggling with more than the gender of his partners. He straightened up on his chair, pretending to sort his papers on his desk although he was really just messing them up more. 

"I had two girlfriends before. But I wasn't very happy with them either. It was pretty messy. I prefer boys, I guess." Grant said quietly, hugging his pillow harder. He smiled, hiding his face in it. "I really enjoy spending time with you better." He admitted, his face reddening. "I like coming here and being with you. I've never really had that before and-" He paused, breathing deep to calm down his racing heart. "I'm happy."

This confession made Joey smile. Grant was happy with him despite everything. That made him feel warm and peaceful inside. He continued to pretend to arrange the papers on his desk, he thought it would be weird to stop so suddenly. 

Grant felt stuck with his words, he didn't know how to express how he felt truly. He looked up at his lover, resting his chin on his pillow. He wanted to say something obvious but he felt it wasn't the right time. 

"It's nice to be with someone like me." He said instead. "I feel less… Weird about it."

Joey mumbled something intelligible. A quick glance out of the window showed him the rain was starting to fall. He couldn't hold back a yawn despite his best efforts. Grant chuckled.

"Aw, see? You're tired t-" He interrupted himself to yawn. "Geeze, you're contagious." 

He patted the bed next to him. "Come now."

_ "Alright, alright." _

Joey finished "organizing" his desk and stood up slowly, reaching for the switch to turn off the lights. 

He then softly settled on his side of the bed, taking a pillow with him to mimic Grant and laid on his side, extending his left arm to slip his hand under Grant's. He had his face hidden behind his pillow, his eyes closed. Grant didn't dare moving, he didn't want to risk hurting Joey's hand. He just shifted as carefully as he could to be in a more comfortable position. That made Joey raise his head a little, opening his eyes to see what was going on. Grant's heart stopped. He was so adorable. He was so sleepy, he looked like a little kitten with his shiny blue eyes and fuzzy beard. 

"I love y

your eyes so much." Grant corrected himself instantly. 

He sighs in relief as he sees Joey's smiling. He felt like he almost said something bad. He feels Joey's finger tracing a heart on his palm slowly as a reply. His heart melted. 

"Good night, Joey." He whispered, smiling tenderly.

_ "Good night."  _

Grant couldn't imagine anything better to fall asleep to.

He woke up in the middle of the night by the crash of thunder in an empty bed, rain violently bashing against the building and the ground around it, but bringing no freshness to the air. Summers were hot and humid here. He looked around the dark room for Joey, but he was nowhere to see. He noticed a red eye glowing by the window. He didn't see it at first. He froze, his heartbeat quickening and his breath stuck in his lungs. He hated these. He saw so many here at night, in dark corners, following him around to the kitchen or the bathroom. Quiet, evil, making things move and scratching at the walls. Strangely enough, this time he felt watched, but not in a bad way. Watched  _ over _ . He stared at the eye, hoping it would go away if he did hard enough. Lightning sparked and lit the room for a second, cutting out a small silhouette behind the red dot, making Grant jump in fear. Oh, that was him. Joey was sitting where he sat earlier tonight. Grant felt stupid for not figuring it out sooner. The smell of smoke got to him along with warm rain wind from the window, comforting in a way. Joey probably woke up because of the thunder too, he thought. He just hoped he didn't have a nightmare or didn't sleep at all. He couldn't force him to do anything anyways. He laid back in the bed -not that he moved a lot- and let himself drift back away, soothed by the sound of rain and knowing everything was okay.

**Author's Note:**

> If you were reading WAGLDY, here's the link to take you back to chapter 4-
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/22589185/chapters/54840256
> 
> Feel free to leave some feedback or criticism, it really motivates me to do more !
> 
> If you want to know more about my AU, my Tumblr blog is @the-hellion-studio!


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